Beauty shop dawah

My convert story starts in a hair salon. I’ve been a hairstylist for many years. Years ago, the salon I worked for hired a new stylist. When she started working with us, she installed a curtain that she could pull around her workstation to create privacy for the few Muslim clients that she had. I had never met a Muslim that I knew of. I didn’t have any preconceived thoughts about Islam, I recognized that I knew nothing about the religion. I asked why she needed a curtain for her Muslim clients, and she went on to explain the need for privacy for the women who wear a headscarf. In our city, there aren’t many options for hijab wearing Muslim ladies to have a hair service done with privacy. I wanted to make sure her clients felt comfortable in our salon and because of my curiosity, I started to do a little bit of reading about Islam. The more I researched, I became amazed to find a religion that already existed that aligned with my personal beliefs. My parents were not religious. My family celebrated Christian holidays secularly. I attended Christian churches occasionally with friends or some family members, but I never felt like it was the right place for me and in some cases I even felt uncomfortable in a church. I started making some Muslim friends online and discovered so many amazing things about Islam and about Muslims. When I decided to buy and read the Qur’an, I was so drawn to the emphasis on compassion. I discovered upon more research that I have always been Muslim; I just didn’t know it. Alhamdulillah some online friends became very reliable for support and sources. Although I appreciated and accepted what I learned, I was still a bit hesitant to make such a huge lifestyle change. Some things giving up alcohol and pork were no sacrifice to me as I already didn’t care for them while some other things were more of a challenge to change. I decided to start eating halal, and try fasting, dressing more modestly, try doing some prayers and to memorize the shahada. It wasn’t long before I decided becoming Muslim officially was the right thing for me. I only told a few people for about the first 6 months. It’s not that I was afraid to share my news, but I wanted to do a bit of an experiment. I decided wearing hijab (with the exception of prayers) was something I wasn’t ready for right away. Because I didn’t wear a headscarf, no one could see any difference with me. Once I did reveal to my friends and family that I had become Muslim, I wanted to prove to them that I was still the same person, so much so, that they didn’t have a clue that I had become Muslim. I wanted them to see that becoming Muslim was a positive addition to my life and not a cause for any worry. This was effective for me but luckily my family was happy that I found something that gave me so much peace. Every day I’m so grateful to Allah for choosing me to become Muslim and for all the blessings in my life.